This week in Bitcoin: the fall of Mt. Gox, the Winkdex, and the rise of the ATMs (charts)

These events show why we need a better way to keep an eye on the fast-moving world of Bitcoin. Each Friday we’ll post a series of charts and new summaries to make Bitcoin a little more understandable for those inside and outside the cryptocurrency world.

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This week in Bitcoin

The Bitcoin market this week fluctuated from a low of around $552 to a high around $668. It was a little stronger earlier in the week, before falling to $556 at publishing time. For background on why we’re using Coindesk’s Bitcoin Price Index, see note at bottom of the post.

But when put on a different axis, the price of bitcoins suddenly looks a lot more stable. The real story is with Mt. Gox, highlighted in yellow below, as customers struggle to withdraw cash and bitcoins from the troubled exchange.

Could Bitcoin be the next Paypal? A TechCrunch article argues that the beginnings of PayPal may be a predictor for the future of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin in 2014

The Bitcoin price continues to fall from the start of the year. No surprise here since the Mt. Gox drama has introduced some uncertainty into the market.

Bitcoin’s weekly closing price since 2013

A note on our data: We use Coindesk’s Bitcoin Price Index to obtain both a historical and current reflection of the Bitcoin market. The BPI is an average of the two Bitcoin exchanges which meet their criteria, Bitstamp and BTC-e. To see the criteria for inclusion or for price updates by the minute, visit Coindesk. Since the market never closes, the “closing price” as noted in the graphics is based on end of day Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or British Summer Time (BST).